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Player to Player: Second Serves

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Last week’s question from Dieter:
(Please note: There's no need to send additional responses to this question)

“I am 55 years old and a 4.5/5.0-rated player. I did not play as a junior and, therefore, was never taught to hit a safe second serve, such as a kick, and am making too many double faults. What is your advice?"

PLAYER RESPONSES:

From Lindy Lou, Bensalem:

Developing a spin second serve has nothing to do with having been a junior player. I was never a junior player, either, but have learned to develop a second serve. This comes from necessity, if you get tired of too many double faults.

Practice, practice, practice. The serve is the easiest shot to practice because you don't need another player… only a hopper of balls and a court. Take a lesson or two first to learn technique. You have to brush up on the side of the ball or something like that. Do not slow down your swing, which is a mistake a lot of players make. It is important to keep up the acceleration.

Here is what you can do in your practice. There are two ways. First, allow yourself two serves, a first and a second. Make sure the second one gets in; do this by trial and error. The second way is to tell yourself, for example, “OK, now I am going to hit 10 second serves only.” If you miss any, go back to one, and start over. Do this until you can do 10 second serves in a row. That should do it.

From Kenny S., Highland Park, IL:

Everyone wants Sampras' second serve, but, oh well.

I would say hit a ¾-pace serve on the first serve more often. On the second serve, make sure the basics are all there – keep your body in control, head up and make a good ball toss. I like the curving-your-racquet-around-the-ball second serve, by swinging toward the net post. It works.

Yeah, double faults kill, and you should be winning your service games. So get more first serves in, keep it basic, practice it more, and find the groove you like. Listen to some music, and get in the flow. It doesn't have to be big. Sometimes a big first followed by a slow second can cause an easy error!

From Eric R.:

For your level, remember John Newcombe’s adage, "You are only as strong as your second serve is strong."

At the 4.5-5.0 level, you must have a spin serve that you can move around the box. Since you said that you do not have a spin serve and double faults have plagued you, decide between a topspin and a slice. The third choice is a kick, aka American Twist serve. At 55, that is NOT a wise choice unless you have a 20-year-old set of back muscles.

Topspin is easier to direct on a high bounce to the backhand. Most players prefer to attack on forehand wing, so that is the top second serve to master. Go to Tennis magazine’s archives and watch both serves from top players.

The slice is a reliable weapon as a second serve if you can master location. Either hit wide to the deuce court and put your opponent at a disadvantage off the court, or hit to the body, jamming him with slice spin that crowds his backhand swing.

At the 4.5-5.0 level, you will never do well just praying that you can hit your second serves flat at a high percentage. However, occasionally when you are up say 30-15 or 40-15, 40-love, crank up your first serve twice. That will keep your opponent guessing, and you may keep him from routinely "creeping in" to take a big swing at a slower second serve.

From Ralph B.:

Why didn't you just ask me? We'll go practice second serves. (Hope I am guessing it is the right Deiter!)

From Dave, San Jose, CA:

If Dieter is, in fact, a 55-year-old 4.5/5.0 player, I find it difficult to believe he can have that high a rating without an effective second serve. The player characteristics that the USTA publishes for 4.5 and 5.0 players imply that such a player has a good second serve. The fact that it seems he doesn't actually know his rating makes me suspicious, too.

Anyway, assuming that he has all the tools to be such a highly ranked player, he has to know about grips, spins and when to strike a ball to either flatten it out or hit it with a lot of spin. Assuming that, he should toss the ball up so that it lands about six inches in front of his forward foot and slightly out to the side. Use his legs to drive upward, and with a continental or slightly more pronounced backhand grip, hit up on the back of the ball at the top of the toss. He should try to finish by having his body go towards the direction of the serve. He doesn't want to fall away from where he is intending to hit the serve.

His left arm (assuming he is right-handed) should stay up, and I use my left hand as a kind of sight to give the second serve direction. As he figures this out, he can increase the racquet head speed to impart heavier spin, and he can change the angle of the contact point between the strings and the ball to change direction. He can also change direction by changing where he tosses the ball. But he should know this if his first serve is effective.

I just played in our senior league championship match on a windy day with the sun in my face all the time. I had no double faults through two sets and a super tiebreaker. I am 55 years old, and the top speed for my first serve is about 100 mph and my second serve about 80-85 mph (the radar gun said so, anyway). I am not a 4.5/5.0 player, either. I have played against those types of players in the combo leagues, and their serves have much more spin and speed than mine.

From Dick B., Morrisville, VT:

First of all, too many second serves means not enough first serves are going in. Take a little off your first serve, and serve more into the body to play out more points. A second serve needs to be at least three quarter box into your opponent’s weak side or into the body. Speed is not the issue for second serves as much as placement.

From Paul S.:

What does not learning a spin have to do with not having played as a junior? You only have today; begin to learn it now. The usual learning methods will prevail today regardless of the past. Go find an experienced tennis teaching professional and ask to be taught a spin serve. Whether you learn it or not will be determined by how much time and energy you put into the advice he shares with you.

From Jim L., Palm Desert, CA:

You certainly don't have to have been a junior player in order to have created for yourself a solid second serve.

You can hit either a heavy slice or a kick serve as your second serve. Not knowing what kind of second serve you're trying to hit or what your issues are with a second serve makes it difficult to give you advice.

I do know that many recreational players either don't understand the hand speed needed or they don't practice their second serve enough to gain the confidence to create the hand speed needed to hit a second serve effectively.

The phrase, "Your serve is only as good as your second serve," is so true. It's only when you have an amazing second serve that you know you can rely on and that you know nobody is going to be able to pounce on that you can truly lose all inhibitions and really go for your first serve.

Whether you're hitting a heavy slice serve or a kick serve, the key is to create great hand speed with a nice, loose wrist, just as on a flat serve. You're just hitting the side of the ball (for slice) or up the back side of the ball (for topspin) in order to create a ball that has AT LEAST two feet of net clearance and enough spin to come into the service court.

When you can hit serves like this and consistently hit 9 or 10 out of 10 into the backhand corner (or anywhere else in the service box for that matter), you know you've got the second serve you're looking for.

Other than a very loose hand and wrist, balance and rhythm are the things that will keep any serve fundamentally sound. Even if you don't have an available teaching professional, you can experiment by hitting balls slowly at first with spin and arc – don't be afraid to use a lot of arc. Too many recreational players try to hit the ball pretty flat and still expect some sort of kick on the other side. Practice creating good arc and spin at a slow speed, and then as you gain control, start to add more and more hand speed. If you're a 4.5 - 5.0 player, and you have the three things mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, you will have no problem creating a reliable, effective second serve, as long as you're willing to put in the practice time.

From Morris R., Atlanta:

I am a 60-year-old player and have some second-serve advice for you.

Pick a day of the week to play a friend a friendly game of "first-serve-only" tennis. This will give you confidence and help you develop consistency.

From David C., Richmond, VA:

I will be 65 this year and have a rating somewhere between 5.0 and 5.5. I've chosen to hit both serves hard for valuable match experience close to 50 years after attempting various second-serve types.

I, too, never played junior tennis as such, yet did play a year of high school tennis my senior year. I later played for Virginia Commonwealth University and mostly learned by trial and error.

My rationalization is I get valuable match experience under both league and tournament conditions, gain confidence in my game and keep my opponent off balance as he hopelessly waits for that slower second serve. Yes, this is a bit of a reckless approach and not for most players at any level. Try it; you might like it.

*Please note that any advice given out in this forum should in no way be confused with actual medical advice. Before starting any new exercise regimen or altering your existing one, we strongly urge you to consult with your regular physician.

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